How College Helped a CEO and Founder at Hit of Happiness Succeed
Brian's undergraduate experience significantly shaped their career success through extensive travel, fostering "a very relatable person," and strong networking skills. The combination of this social development with the discipline of CPA exam preparation, "working 4, 6, 8 hours a day," and establishing healthy habits like running, provided a solid foundation for long hours and perseverance in their demanding career path.
Networking, Work Ethic, Global Mindset, Healthy Habits, Overcoming Challenges
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Brian Dubow
CEO and Founder
Hit of Happiness
University of Florida 2016
MBA-UCLA, Master of Accounting- University of Florida
Accounting
Coaching, Speaking & Writing
Entrepreneurship and Business Owner
Honors Student, Scholarship Recipient
Video Highlights
1. Traveled and gained worldly experience through study abroad and other opportunities. This helped him become more relatable and build a strong network.
2. Developed strong networking skills by being social and connecting with people from diverse backgrounds. This proved valuable in both his corporate career and entrepreneurial ventures.
3. Learned the importance of hard work and discipline by dedicating significant time to studying for the CPA exams and building healthy habits (exercise). This prepared him for the demanding nature of his career and helped him develop resilience and confidence.
Transcript
What did you do in undergrad to set you up for success in your career?
That's a great question. I'm thinking of three things right now.
One is traveling and becoming worldly. I studied abroad, then entered abroad, and I got to travel to a lot of amazing places. I feel so fortunate for those opportunities, but that also made me a very relatable person.
I'd say number two is my ability to network. I was a pretty social person in college, but it also combined the worldly view, all the experiences, and my ability to connect with people. I think that really helped me move up the ladder faster in my corporate job and also have this large network that I'm connected with for my company now.
The third is that I learned how to work hard. My last year, I actually took the CPA exams. I shifted my lifestyle where, being in college, I was partying a lot at that point. I was really focused and studying four, six, eight hours a day, five days a week towards these tests.
That prepared me for working long hours in my consulting job. It wasn't as much of a shock to the system as for people who skated through college and then got to the real world and were like, "What is this? What do you mean we have to focus for eight hours straight or 10 hours straight? This is crazy."
I think a lot of us want to always take the easier path, but challenges you bring into your life will pay off in dividends down the road because they will prepare you for whatever's next.
The last piece is also just building healthy habits. I started exercising a lot in college, started running, and did my first half marathon. As I've worked over the years, I still do marathons and triathlons every year. For me, that keeps me sharp. That keeps me in the headspace to keep pushing and keep going in business.
It also gives me the confidence. If I can push through a marathon, finishing this document isn't that bad. I've dealt with work worse than this. So, build healthy habits now that will support you when the going gets tough in the workplace.